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lexs
117
Jun 15, 2017
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Im sure these sound nice but please, 'Pro' and 'Reference' are a long way from the truth. I wish people wouldn't use these terms for hifi headphones. As a 'Pro' sound engineer who often needs to 'reference' how audio actually sounds these would *coughs* not be my 1st choice for the titles which they so proudly purport themselves to be :) Now if these were a re-release of the AKG 240DF [note the DF]... now THAT would be a pro reference headphone :D (one can only dream) Lets not forget, whenever AKG releases a world beating headphones they quickly stop making them o_0
EinTheVariance
342
Jun 15, 2017
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lexsthey may not be your first choice, but you do see them in professional recording/mixing studios. The Pro/Reference designation just means that it is marketed for that audience, not necessarily an indication of performance, although the implications are there so I understand why you'd be making this comment.
lexs
117
Jun 15, 2017
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EinTheVarianceWhat you tend to see is the AKG 240 'M' = Monitor (which is a cheaper and easier to make version of the original 240DF. The former being neutral sounding at best and the later being one of the finest headphones ever made) Dont get me wrong I think for the price these M220 will be great but... no where near pro or reference :) It may well be a marketing ploy but a misleading one at best
EinTheVariance
342
Jun 15, 2017
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lexswell, what I meant was the 55 ohm studios, which is what these are based off of. I have seen the K240 M on a studio once (don't remember which one) but never the 240 DF. Again, you are basing your use of the word based on the headphone performance, which is not why it's being used here. Not saying these are crappy or great or whatever (I think they sound fine for the price), but pros don't necessarily always mix with "neutral" sounding headphones, for better or for worse. Hell, I've seen DT770 pros on booths and we all know that's far from neutral.
At any rate, I doubt most people buying these on massdrop are really professional musicians anyway.
At any rate, I doubt most people buying these on massdrop are really professional musicians anyway.
lexs
117
Jun 16, 2017
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sdfxVery much so. Firstly you need a powerful desktop amp to run them but once you do the difference is quite something. The DF's were designed to [in effect] replace studio monitors and as such have a quite unique tuning. The realism and true to source that the DF's have is on a whole 'nother level to the Sextetts. I just had a pair of LP sextetts arrive a couple days ago. They are very nice but they have almost no detail >compared< to the DF's. [In comparison] the Sextetts are warm with a closed soundstage. Too much bloom in the lows although with velour pads they are relatively balanced now. The Sextetts are lovely to listen to and are deserving of their praise BUT next to a well driven pair of DF's they are frankly quite an immature headphone but bear in mind I say this to try to emphasize how good the DF's are. The DF's are a true reference class headphone in that you can confidently reference the audio you are listening to as being accurate to the source. They are probably one of a very small number of cans you could confidently mix with - (I don;t have hands on experience as I work mainly with vocals alone) One particularly amazing quality of the DF's is to give each instrument, not only its own unique and open space in the mix BUT to accurately replicate the qualities of each instrument in and off themselves. They are a little cold over all but not in a bad way. I'm lucky to also own the Senheisser HD 540 Reference headphones which are in the same league of the DF's but over all they are warmer, a little more musical. Ive listened to a lot of headphones from the 1960's up to the present day flagships and I have never had such a profoundly 'real' feeling of being actually IN the room WITH the musicians as I have with the 240DF - (listening to Ella Fitzgerald on Verve records) - When You combine a good old powerful amp with some beautifully produced and mastered music with the DF's its hard to conceive of a better sound. In fact at this level of quality I would say there are different flavours of the 'best' headphones rather than one being better than the other. Its taken me a long time to work up to this headphone, a lot of trial and error and listening over the years so I agree 100% with Massdrop in that this new AKG, the M220 will indeed be a fantastic starting point for many people and to be honest I would get one myself if I had any spare cash :)
lexs
117
Jun 19, 2017
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EinTheVariance'Pro/Reference designation just means that it is marketed for that audience, not necessarily an indication of performance'
Exactly my point - the 'pro reference audience would not even think of using these [as yet untested] cans. 'Pro' & 'Reference' SHOULD be an EXACT indication of the performance of a headphone! :)
You don't see these (AKG 220) in recording studios. What you DO see is the AKG 240M which is the most widely sold studio monitor headphone I think, ever? But to be honest 'monitoring' isn't necessarily the most important part of the recording process as you would more likely be using your monitor speakers. Its more likely that the engineer would use them in a more loose sense of the word 'monitor' Im not sure how much the sound bleed of the 240's would effect recording. Depends so much on the many variables off the recording situation. Im starting to sound like a bore here! :D
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